84: It was her!

After Ai Yue and Ye Rui parted ways with Mo Li at the main gate of the Safety Tower, she brought Ye Rui back home.

As soon as she entered, she found that Ai Guosheng and his wife hadn't gone to work today; they had taken the day off to stay home specifically to wait for her return.

“Yueyue, you're finally home! We were worried sick about you.” Li Shilan pulled Ai Yue into a hug, but then she noticed the Little Girl who had followed Ai Yue inside, her face full of surprise. “This Little Girl is...”

Ye Rui had been feeling very anxious while standing outside the door. Strictly speaking, Ai Yue's parents were also her saviors, and she didn't know if they would be easy to get along with.

Seeing Li Shilan and her husband's gazes focused entirely on her, Ye Rui said politely, “Hello, Uncle and Auntie. My name is Ye Rui. We've met once before.”

“We’ve met?” Li Shilan and Ai Guosheng exchanged a glance, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes; they had no recollection of her.

Ye Rui pressed her lips together tightly and continued, “After the Apocalypse began, we met once in the Jinhua Residential Area. At that time, you killed those beasts and saved a room full of women. My situation back then was... rather embarrassing, so you might not remember me clearly.”

The couple looked shocked as they instantly recalled that there had been a young girl in that room, pinned to a table by a group of people... So it was her!

The two hadn't expected that after so much time, that girl would still look so innocent and pure, without a trace of negative energy around her. To have such a dark past and live in such a desperate environment, yet still possess such a genuine smile—it was truly rare.

“This child looks like a good girl with a strong moral compass. Come in, quickly. You must be exhausted and hungry after such a nerve-wracking journey. Come in, let’s eat first.” In the blink of an eye, Li Shilan transformed into the image of a kind and virtuous mother.

Ye Rui gave a bashful smile and followed behind Ai Yue into the house.

While the two elders were busy bringing out the dishes, Ai Yue took the opportunity to tell them that Ye Rui would be living with them from now on.

After a moment of hesitation, the two agreed.

They felt deep sympathy for what this Little Girl had endured. The fact that she had survived this cruel world on her own and had been saved by their daughter once again made them feel that there was a strong destiny between them. Most importantly, they trusted Ai Yue.

They trusted her judgment.

The group ate a simple bowl of noodles and sat on the sofa to chat.

This bowl of noodles caused Ye Rui, who hadn't had a proper meal in a long time, to break down emotionally. She wept as she ate.

Soon, the bowl was empty. Li Shilan wanted to give her another, but she shook her head and refused. Food was incredibly precious in the Apocalypse, and she was already immensely grateful to have had one bowl. “I'm sorry, Uncle and Auntie, I've made a fool of myself. This is the best meal I've ever eaten,” Ye Rui whispered, her head bowed and her face flushed.

“Good child, you have a home now. You won't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from. We'll prepare a welcoming feast for you tonight—a big meal!” Li Shilan said with a face full of maternal affection.

Ye Rui felt like she must be dreaming. She felt that Ai Yues family must be immortals from heaven who saw how much she was suffering and descended to the mortal world specifically to save her.

Since they had decided to live under the same roof, there was no need to hide anything from her.

Li Shilan immediately said to Ai Yue, “Quick, let my Great King out. I miss it to death.”

Ai Yue gave a helpless smile and explained, “Great King fell into a deep sleep after eating a black stone and hasn't woken up yet. I'll let it out once it wakes up.”

“A stone? What kind of stone? Why would Great King eat a stone?” Ai Guosheng asked, looking confused.

“I'm not entirely sure either. Great King found them and even gave one to me.” Ai Yue recounted the events on Xusui Mountain in detail, including the changes she experienced after absorbing the black stone.

The three of them were dumbfounded. What? Gaining supernatural abilities by eating stones?

Ye Rui stammered, “Sister, I... I don't quite understand. How can such a magical thing exist?”

This was the first time Ye Rui had encountered such a thing, and her worldview was being shaken.

Li Shilan and Ai Guosheng were surprised for a moment but quickly accepted it. After all, they had seen the Space and were people who had been reborn. What else could they not accept?

“Here, it's this kind of stone.” Ai Yue pulled three stones, each about the size of a thumb, from her pocket and placed them on the coffee table.

Ye Rui didn't react; she sat there motionless, still reconstructing her worldview.

Li Shilan and her husband each picked up a stone and held it before their eyes to examine it closely.

“This is it?” Ai Guosheng turned the small stone over and over in his hand but couldn't find anything special about it. He clicked his tongue and tutted. “Don't stones like this cover the streets? This is actually a treasure? It can make someone incredibly strong?”

Ai Guosheng looked incredulous.

“What do you mean 'cover the streets'? Can those ordinary stones be the same as the ones Yueyue brought back? This is called 'restrained brilliance, divine objects concealing their own light',” Li Shilan said, giving him a sidelong glance.

“Right, right, right, you're the one who knows more,” Ai Guosheng immediately changed his tune, smiling broadly at Li Shilan.

Li Shilan didn't know whether to laugh or cry and gave him another look.

By then, Ye Rui had snapped out of her daze and curiously picked up the last stone to examine it carefully.

To everyone's surprise, the stone suddenly flew up on its own, slammed into Ye Rui's chest, and vanished. Ye Rui was terrified by the turn of events; she immediately looked at Ai Yue, frantically wanting to explain something, but her eyes suddenly rolled back, and she fainted.

The sudden turn of events caught Ai Yues family completely off guard.

“That stone... it could actually fly? And then it disappeared?” Ai Guosheng muttered.

Ai Yue pondered for a moment. “The stone must have recognized its master on its own. It chose Ye Rui.”

Li Shilan and Ai Guosheng looked at each other.

“Will Ye Rui be okay?” Li Shilan asked, sounding uncertain.

Ai Yue recalled that she hadn't experienced any side effects since absorbing the black stone; in fact, the benefits were obvious.

Since that was the case... “Mom, Dad, there's no time to lose. Before the Plague of Insects arrives, you two should absorb these stones as well.” As Ai Yue spoke, she drew the military knife from her waist, intending to draw blood from them.

“Wait, wait, wait...”

“Wait for what? Yueyue, start with mine. Only by becoming strong ourselves can we avoid being a burden to Yueyue,” Li Shilan said with a look of determination.

“Alright, Mom, bear with the pain for a bit.” Ai Yue made a small, gentle cut on Li Shilan's fingertip.

She smeared the blood onto the stone, and Ai Guosheng followed the same procedure.

The three of them stared at each other. Li Shilan and her husband were perfectly alert and didn't faint, nor did the stones disappear.

For a moment, silence fell among the three of them.

What was going on?

She remembered that Great King had smeared her blood on the stone just like this.

Could it be that they needed to hold the stone with the bleeding wound?

Ai Yue quickly told them to grip the stones.

The air remained still!

Nothing happened...